The inverted torch
by YoursTrulyPyress
Summary: Sometimes knowing who your real parents are is worse than thinking you have none.
1. Prologue

I'd never felt colder in all of my life. The wind was rushing past so fast I could have sworn we broke the sound barrier, except there was nothing. Only darkness and the cold.

All of the sudden the rushing stopped. Los Angeles was gone, and I was in a valley of some sorts, ringed with hills. Down in the glade I could see a strawberry field and a lot of buildings, but immediately my attention was caught by all of the people around me. And they were armed.

My survival instincts kicked in; I pulled away from the black haired kids grip and drew my sword. I was outnumbered a hundred to one, but I planned to go down swinging.

"Where am I!"

I held my sword steady and tried to listen for an attack at my back; the other kids were looking at me, most of them with looks akin to pity. Maybe they were prisoners here? Still, I kept my sword up. Until I got some answers, I wasn't relaxing my guard for anything.

The black haired kid called Nico tried to approach me. I leveled my blade at him. If I was going to take anyone down, he was top of my list.

"calm down-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" I shrieked. The other campers were starting to look annoyed now. Why I have no clue, I was the one who had been tricked and kidnapped. "Where am I, Nico?"

He looked at me cautiously, raising his hands slowly to his sword. I tensed, readying myself for his attack, but he drew it slowly, and placed it on the ground before getting up, hands still in the air. I didn't relax. The other campers threw their weapons down as well. Arms still raised, Nico spoke slowly.

"You're safe. Welcome to Camp Half Blood."


	2. Math is the least of my problems

**Authors note: Welcome readers! This plot bunny has been insistently gnawing on my laptop for a while now. First story, reviews are welcome. Please don't flame. **

_The tunnel was dark. The hairs on the back of my neck were raised, my ears straining to hear any warning that I wasn't alone under here._

_But it had never bothered me, even when I was little and the older foster kids would try to scare us, they learned that they couldn't scare me. Being in the dark was uncomfortable, but not frightening. The dark was quiet, calm, and peaceful even. There was always a voice in the back of my head that had told me that there was nothing to fear, that I was safe._

_There was no voice now, just the overwhelming fear and sense of panic. There was a thundering of paws behind me, and I raised my sword to defend myself. I was going to die…The sound was getting closer now…_

Someone was pounding at the door. I curled up in my bunk, ignoring them and hoping that eventually they would leave.

_Just one more minute_, I blearily thought. It didn't really matter whether I made it to school or not, I was going to flunk my Algebra test anyways. I rolled over, covering my head with my pillow. Just go away…

Of course, luck was not on my side. Abbey, my roommate, mumbled in the bunk overhead and started to wake. Last summer a storm smashed an oak branch through our window. I had rolled out of bed, looking around for an intruder, but Abbey had blissfully slept on. Unfortunately, her deep sleeping habits weren't kicking in today. I sighed. Abbey was most definitely a morning person, and a chatty one at that.

"Oh wow Selene! I had the coolest dream! We went to that old candy shop in the village, remember near the beach? Mrs. Treble was there, but she was behind the counter asking us what we wanted, trying to get us to get the taffy and the chocolate…" Abbey continued to ramble, red hair bobbing as she climbed down the ladder and grabbed her stuff.

"c'mon hurry up! We'll be late for school!" I sighed. I knew sleep was impossible now. Kicking off the covers, I reached for the outfit and threadbare towel I had set on the back of my chair last night and made my way to our foster homes communal bathroom. Lela was already waiting outside, bleary eyed and yawning.

"Abbey beat you to it?" she nodded, closing her eyes and leaning against the door. I sighed then doubled back to my room for my algebra book. I might as well pretend to study while I waited to use the facilities, even though the dyslexia gave me a killer headache whenever I tried.

Mrs. Treble passed by then, dressed in what I called her "sunshine" outfit (yellow pants and a sunflower shirt) on her way to the kitchen. She was an elderly lady, still lively and energetic, especially in the morning. She was a motherly person by nature, which is part of the reason why she fostered us I think.

"Morning chickpeas! Hurry along now, I've got something special planned for breakfast." She patted us both on the arm as she passed, humming a little.

Lela slumped down the wall, snuggling her towel.

Lela had insomnia, from living in a bad neighborhood with an alcoholic mother. One night a bullet had passed through the window and narrowly missed her head. Several months later a teacher noticed the circles under her eyes from not sleeping. Lela's mom had been called for a parent teacher conference, for which she hadn't shown up. The school investigated and concluded Lela's mother to be an unfit guardian, and Lela had been brought here to live with Mrs. Treble, sleeping on our couch's pull out. Abbey and I had offered to rotate every night so she didn't have to sleep there all the time, but she said her old mattress had been worse, and preferred the openness of the living room at night. Privately I knew she missed her mom and didn't want to get too attached to us. Her mom visited every Sunday, and Lela told us her mom was going through AA to sober up and get her back.

Abbey walked out of the bathroom then, fully dressed with wet hair in a towel. Lela yawned and got up, stretching slowly and shuffled in. Abbey positively beamed at me as she passed.

"Oh good you're up! Aren't you excited for the end of semester? Mrs. Treble was talking about taking us to the mall tomorrow to go shopping and celebrate!"

Abbey proceeded to our room to finish getting ready. We'd been roommates for three years, since I had moved in. Abbey had lived with Mrs. Treble long before that, when Mr. Treble had been alive. They'd been fostering Abbey since no one could find her real mom, who'd been missing since Abbey was two. She didn't remember her mom, but had come to the (reasonable) conclusion that if she had been abandoned, her mom hadn't really cared and (therefore) she was better off here with Mrs. Treble, who cared so much that she knew all of our favorite foods, helped us with our homework, and even signed us up for karate classes at the Y (although I think that was more to save her house from two rambunctious nine year girls).

My story was a lot messier. My mom had been in a coma when I had been born, and had promptly passed away after. I had no living family that the state knew of, no one knew who my father had been, and I was lucky that the nurses took a liking to week old me and had the decency to name me. Selene Vu, daughter of Irene Vu, orphan. From what I could understand I had been adopted, but my adoptive parents had given me back when I was three, saying they hadn't been ready. I don't remember them. The state had placed me in foster care after that, but I never stayed longer than a year at any of the homes they matched me with. The agents who were responsible for me were frazzled, not knowing what to do with a ward of the state diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, and a penchant for trouble.

Then the agency got Mrs. Trebles call. She had wanted to apply for another foster child, and seeing as how well adjusted Abbey had been they decided to send me. Immediately I could tell Mrs. Treble was in the Foster care program because she genuinely loved taking care of people. It was like finding a kindly Grandma who baked sunshine into cookies and all that jazz. Within months of living with her my previously horrible grades were at a respectable C- average and my agents were pleased. Abbey and I, despite our differences, were happy to have each other going through the unimaginable tortures of middle school, especially since we were known foster kids, labeled as uncool. Unwanted.

Lela walked out of the bathroom then, looking far more alert than she had entered. Currently her long dark hair was wet but combed into a neat braid, revealing her rather pretty Hispanic features, wearing a red shirt, denim skirt, and black leggings. I felt my own Asian features were insipid next to hers, and the only thing I've ever done to improve my style had been to ask Mrs. Treble to take me shopping for a bra. Jeans and T shirts with comfy sweaters were more my speed.

"All yours." she smiled. I grinned back, shuffling in. I had grown accustomed to my cozy home, almost able to pretend I lived with my kindly grandmother and two sisters. I had stopped waiting for something bad to happen, accepting that all the things that had happened were behind me now.

I should have known better.

* * *

><p>As promised, Mrs. Treble had gone all out for breakfast, piling each of our plates with two Double Chocolate Chip Pancakes, complete with strawberry eyes and a whipped cream smile.<p>

"I know you girls have finals today, so eat up! You've got to give your brain some fuel to power through those exams!"

We each dug in, taking her words to heart. You couldn't help but _want _ to do well for Mrs. Treble, just cause she had faith you could. I know she got paid to take care of us, but the extra stuff she did, like signing us up for classes and taking us shopping made me feel like she thought of us as more than just some kids she took care of. Lela had brought her History notes to the table, Abbey was going through Vocabulary cards for science, and I had my algebra book propped up.

Out of the three of us, I easily took last when it came to school. Abbey had always done well, growing up with Mrs. Treble, and Lela almost never needed to study, able to scrape by with just listening in class. It's not that I didn't like school; growing up in foster care it was the best part of the day. But the ADHD and dyslexia made studying akin to a tooth extraction. I couldn't sit still, I couldn't focus. Hell I could barely _read._

Mrs. Treble tottered around the kitchen, cleaning up and packing us lunches. She was humming an Elvis Song as she worked, seemingly content. But I caught the glance at the picture frame that hung between our tiny kitchen and living room, the one of Mr. Treble. His smile reminded me of Mr. Rogers from the kids' show they used to show on Saturday mornings, warm and caring. I know that Mrs. Treble had lost him five years ago, before she had taken me in. The one time I had been brave enough to ask Abbey about it she had looked a little sad. "He was kind." She said simply, and then went back to her homework with a little more focus than usual. I hadn't asked about him again. I know that Mr. and Mrs. Treble hadn't had any kids of their own, and had treated Abbey almost as if she were their own. When her husband had passed it had been really hard for Mrs. Treble, but also tough for Abbey.

"All done girls? Alright then off we go!"

* * *

><p>As I said before, school had gotten marginally better for me since moving in with Mrs. Treble and Abbey, and with Lela's transfer, almost enjoyable. Lela, rather than associate herself with the other pretty and popular (but rather snooty) kids, had deigned to spend her time with us, so we weren't made fun of or picked on as often.<p>

As Mrs. Treble pulled up to the curb, I saw kids and parents shooting us furtive looks, and I could tell they were whispering about us. Most people considered Mrs. Treble sweet, albeit crazy, because she took in foster kids. The snootier parents thought Mrs. Treble brought down the quality of their wonderful and oh so special suburb by taking in the kids no one wanted.

She ignored all of it though.

"Alright girls, Do your best! I'll be here after school to take you to your classes at the Y."

She pulled away from the curb, heading downtown to the Joanns crafts store where she worked part time to keep her busy and earn extra cash, so she wasn't entirely reliant on her retirement savings.

Trudging into the building, the three of us parted ways, promising we'd see each other at lunch. Groaning internally, I headed to Algebra.

Ms. Thompson had singled me out as a trouble maker from the first day, when I had been late coming in. She had assigned my seat at the very front of the classroom, right next to her desk, and then had proceeded to humiliate me every chance she got. If she wanted something read aloud she called on me, which with my dyslexia was a nightmare, and seemed to save the hardest problems for me to do on the board.

She also liked giving me detention; one for accidentally elbowing Garret Smith in the face when he had leaned over to retrieve his pencil (even he had said it had been an accident), one for leaving class without permission (I had sat there for half an hour with my hand raised to ask to use the bathroom, suffering in silence before deciding to just go for it and hope for the best), and another for having a coughing fit that (apparently) was rude and disruptive.

As I took my seat, I caught her giving me the evil eye, as if my very presence was loathsome to her.

I was on thin ice. She had already sent me to the principal, claiming that I was a nuisance, and he had clearly told me that (with my record) one more incident and he would have to call Mrs. Nox, the social worker responsible for my case. Mrs. Nox had been really nice considering all the trouble I'd been in, and I'm sure she'd do her best to make sure that I was placed in another good home, but I was desperate to avoid that. I was tired of being shuffled around and liked my home as it was, so I was doing my best to make it to the end of the year and through Ms. Thompson's class with a passing grade.

Mrs. Thompson rose right as the bell rang to pass out our final. All of the boys in my class thought Mrs. Thompson was really pretty, but there was something funny about the way she moved, swaying from side to side. Maybe that's what boys liked. She also seemed to have a liking for rough material that made scraping noises as she walked by. I hunkered down, determined to get through this and all my other finals.

I did ok until lunch.

After my Algebra final (from which I had ran out at the first opportunity) I made it through my 7th grade history and science classes, positive that I at least scraped C's on all of my finals.

I met Lela and Abbey at our usual table, plopping down across from Abbey, next to Lela, and commenced to tear into my ham and cheese sandwich.

"Man I'm so glad to be done with Algebra. I swear that woman has it out for me."

Lela, who was primly seated and taking small, ladylike bites from her sandwich, swallowed.

"I don't get why, the way she acts it's like you spit in her eye."

Abbey nodded, her hazel eyes slightly wide.

"She creeps me out, the way she stares at you. It's almost like she's planning the best way to skin you."

Lela nodded.

"I get what you mean. It's just you though Selene. The rest of the kids she looks at as if she wants to-"

"Carrot stick, Lela?" Abbey thrust them at Lela, even though we all had the same lunch. But her eyes were wide, trying to tell us something. I was about to ask Abbey why her eyes were trying to pop out of her head when a fake cheerful voice from behind me spoke first.

"Selene? Can I borrow you for a moment?" my blood chilled. Turning slowly, me I came face to face with Mrs. Thompson. What scared me the most was she was smiling, an evil grin that meant I was in trouble.


	3. I get a crash course in sword play

**Thank you reviewers, You made me uber excited about this story and inspired me to finish the next chappie :) **

**As a side note this takes place before/during the last olympian, before the lost hero.**

** love it? hate it? please leave review it!**

As far as principals go, Mr. Mason was on the younger, fitter, more attractive side. A lot of the girl population appreciated this in the same way the boys favored Mrs. Thompson, without as much of the doe-eyed staring that I experienced every day in Algebra because Mr. Mason was impossible to be awkward around. He was definitely cooler than the other principals I had had before, encouraging special school spirit days where he dressed up with the rest of us, or motivating higher scores and overall good behavior from students with a special promise at the end of the year if we hit out goals. Last year when we met the set scores he had allowed randomly selected students to pie him in the face.

Right now though I was experiencing the grim look of a principal who meant business, and coming from someone I rather liked was definitely making my stomach do gymnastic moves the rest of me was just not physically capable of.

Mrs. Thompson was standing to one side of him, looking at me with a (fake) sad look. Usually I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but once Mr. Mason was focused on me I watched her out of the corner of my eye. I could see her staring at me, maintaining eye contact, and her lips would tug up at the corners, like we were in on some humorous secret. Only I had a feeling that whatever was coming could be considered about as funny as a bunny facing a ravenous pack of wolves.

"Selene, I know you've had some disciplinary problems in the past at your other schools, but since your transfer here I'd rather thought you'd gotten over it. The rest of your teachers have had very minimal to complain about, in any case nothing that would be unexpected."

Here I flinched. Being a dyslexic ADHD kid made focusing hard, so I knew I was frustrating to teach, and had accepted that there wasn't much I could do about it. A lot of teachers at my old schools had been content to let me fail, and I hadn't tried because I thought that as a ward of the state I would exceed expectations by staying out of juvie. When I had started here though Mrs. Treble had sat me down and had a talk with me, saying it would always be harder for me than other kids, but that at my new school the teachers would be better equipped than the overcrowded public schools in Los Angeles to help, that she would help, and I could (if I wanted to) do better. Coming from Mrs. Treble it hadn't been so bad, but it still stung when other people implied I was lacking. Mr. Mason plowed on.

"However, this past semester's disciplinary problems have been rather disconcerting. I have given you the benefit of the doubt, as your improvement here has been pronounced and I wanted to encourage you to continue down that path."

Here he sighed heavily. "But I can't ignore this any longer. Mrs. Thompson has just brought me your Algebra final. You received a passing score. Your score, however, is almost identical to your class mate Garret Smith's paper. As I understand it, you sit right next to each other, since it has been previously noted you elbowed him in the face earlier this year."

Sick comprehension dawned on me. I spoke immediately.

"I didn't cheat." I felt like the gymnast in my stomach was competing for the Olympic Gold, flipping and somersaulting to victory, but emotionally I felt like I was her competition watching my chance for a win crumble before my eyes.

Mr. Mason was looking at me in sympathy. Mrs. Thompson could barely contain her glee.

"Selene I _want_ to believe you. I really do. But taking in your history and the circumstances around this final it's very hard. Mrs. Thompson-" her face composed itself to one of sorrow, as though she was sad about these proceedings-" has checked and rechecked your tests, and comparing your work this semester has concluded that between the two of you Garret has been the most consistent this year. I'm afraid that I have no choice but to expel you."

My stomach, pirouetting gymnast and all, fell to the floor like an anvil. There was no other public school close enough for Mrs. Treble to take me to, and she didn't have the money to send me to any of the nearby private schools. Mrs. Nox had explained that to me when I had first moved.

Mrs. Nox may be the social worker responsible for my case, but she was very busy, in fact I can only recall ever seeing her once or twice. She had a presence around her, one that commanded much more than respect. Even me, as mouthy as I liked to get with the other workers, couldn't help but be cowed into silence. The fact that she had been the one to escort me to Mrs. Trebles had imparted just how serious my case was becoming to the agency. She told me if things didn't work out at this school she would have to re- place me, regardless if Mrs. Treble wanted to keep me. I might end up in another home, but with my history she had mentioned that it might be time to send me to some camp for kids "like me". I was so desperate I didn't even register I was speaking until I had finished.

"Please, let me retake the exam. I can prove I didn't cheat." I didn't recognize my voice. It sounded like it was coming from a far off place.

Mr. Mason looked at me intently, and was about to speak again when Mrs. Thompson leaned over his shoulder to whisper in his ear. He looked confused for a moment, then, shaking his head as though clearing it of water log, spoke.

"All right Selene. You may take the final one last time under Mrs. Thompson's supervision. Please continue with the rest of your finals, I will call Mrs. Nox and Mrs. Treble to let them know what has transpired, and that you will be staying after school to retake the test. "

Relief flooded through me. I had one last shot. I could still fix this. I wasn't sure why Mrs. Thompson hadn't refused to let me retake, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Thank you! I promise you won't regret it!"

I didn't realize how much I would.

* * *

><p>The rest of my finals passed in a blur, and I couldn't tell you how I did on them. I vaguely recalled causing a major stir when I walked through a basketball game in full swing, from which Lela had mercifully rescued me. She and Abbey had been sympathetic during the whole explanation I had given them, and it comforted me to know that they believed me. They wished me luck as they walked out to the parking lot to meet Mrs. Treble. Mrs. Nox, who had been due to check up on me in any case, had arranged to pick me up and take me back home once I had finished. If I could still call it home after the test.<p>

My stomach was tangled in knots as I approached Mrs. Thompson's room, anxiety racking my brain. As I approached the door however I started relaxing and pumping myself up to take my final. It was just a test, and even if Mrs. Thompson didn't like me she couldn't prove I had cheated if I still passed after this.

I walked through the door, nervous but slightly cheered and confident in myself. As I crossed the threshold I looked around for Mrs. Thompson, wondering why the class was empty, when the door slammed shut behind me.

"Ahhh yesss… the little godling."

Whirling around, I came face to face with my algebra teacher. She was crouched in front of the door, smirking and slithering towards me.

_Wait. Slithering?_

I watched in horror as my Algebra teacher transformed before my eyes. Her skin was losing color, turning a sickly greenish white, and her legs… where her legs should have been was a slithering snakes tail. I felt as though I were frozen in fear.

_This can't be happening. I can't be seeing this._

"It has been too long sssssince I have devoured a half blood. Nothing but puny mortal children here, sssso unssssatisfying…" Her forked tongue flickered between her lips. I had read somewhere that snakes used their tongues to smell their prey. That got me moving.

I dove to the side of the classroom, farthest from the door, as Mrs. Thompson struck at the spot where I had just been. Chairs and desks went flying, some losing legs. Hissing and spitting, the snake demons tail whipped around, sweeping the area clear as she coiled, readying herself to strike again. I knew I wouldn't keep dodging her forever though, I would tire long before she did. I grabbed a chair and threw it at her. Hissing, she dodged the chair while I made another dive towards the end of the classroom opposite from her, trying to keep desks between us. Sensing what I was doing, she whipped her tail in an arc, sweeping the chairs and desks away from me, to the corner I had just vacated. In the center of the room between us there was a wide space, with only a few chairs left sheltering my crouched form. Hissing in pleasure, I saw her coiling, and she struck, body low.

What I did next was either very brave or ridiculously stupid. I leapt over her, towards her tail, to the spot where she had just vacated, next to her desk, cornering myself. At the same moment the door flew open, revealing Mrs. Nox, the social worker responsible for my case.

Even with the bloodthirsty monster in the room, I still felt the strength of her aura. Her style, as usual, was impeccable, a dark indigo skirt suit that was almost black, with silver pin striping, and her face was a kind of beautiful I defied anyone to deny. But I doubted it would hold against the monster I was facing.

My first instinct was to tell her to run, but my monster algebra teacher hissed and recoiled from her.

"Thissss is againsssst the ancient lawssss! The godssss are not allowed to interfere!"

Mrs. Nox drew a sword then. "Alright then, demon, I shall not." She tossed the sword to me.

Time slowed down as the sword sailed through the air towards me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the snake monster lunging towards me, fangs bared. I caught the sword by the handle, and before I could think about the consequences, guided it in a deadly arc towards the demon.

She made a sickening sound as the blade cut through her, acid green dust exploding and covering me. Coughing so hard I thought I might lose a lung, I staggered backwards in the hope of escaping the dust cloud, praying that my sword strike had finished her.

For once my prayers were answered. The demon math teacher was nowhere in sight, with only a pile of dust and a snakes fang as proof that this was not a figment of my ADHD addled imagination. Shaking, I stumbled backwards until I came in contact with the classroom wall.

_What had just happened? Had I gone crazy? Maybe this was all just a dream._

I pinched myself hard. Ow. Ok not a dream. I started hyperventilating then. I had just vaporized my math teacher, I was still suspected of cheating, and there was no way they would believe me.

"Come Selene, there's no time. I will handle the school and breaking the news to Mrs. Treble, but it is not safe for you here any longer."

Shakily, I looked at the social worker. She had escaped the dust storm of disintegrated monster (yippee for her), and was, somehow, still calm. I regained the ability to speak, and questions exploded out of my mouth like rapid artillery fire.

"Whats going on? What was that? Why did she attack me? What was she talking about when she said _Gods_?"

One last question tugged at my mind. She may not know anything else about what just happened, but there was one question she could answer.

"Who are you?"

She looked pained at all my questions, as though she knew I would ask these questions and had been dreading answering.

"I will explain as soon as we get you away from here, but you are right, I have not been honest about who I am. I am Nyx, goddess of Night."

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	4. My social worker is a what?

**Sorry for the lag! This is a pivotal chapter and I couldn't get it quite right. On a brighter note, Spring Break starts next week, so more time for writing! Thank you my wonderful reviewers for giving me feedback, this ones for you guys!**

**Enjoy!**

**Yours Truly, **

**Pyress  
><strong>

_"Whats going on? What was that? Why did she attack me? What was she talking about when she said __gods__?"_

_One last question tugged at my mind. She may not know anything else about what just happened, but there was one question she could answer._

_"Who are you?"_

_She looked pained at all my questions; as though she knew I would ask these questions and had been dreading answering._

_"I will explain as soon as we get you away from here, but you are right, I have not been honest about who I am. I am Nyx, goddess of Night."_

Usually that kind of proclamation gets you thrown into a padded cell outfitted in a pretty white jacket. However, considering what I had just gone through, and knowing I wasn't going to get an explanation for it anywhere else, I was willing to play along. Before I could get her talking in hypotheticals, however, she had grasped me by the collar of my hoodie and was pulling me out of the classroom. I side jogged before I could maneuver myself into a more upright position. Mrs. Nox (I had already forgotten the name she told me. Sticks? Vicks?) didn't relinquish her hold though. And she was taking me towards the principal's office.

"Mrs. Nox what-"

"I need you to trust me Selene. Don't refute anything I tell the mortal principal. Just know I'm doing this for your safety."

We crossed the threshold into his office then, Mrs. Nox with her firm hold on me and me still clutching the bronze sword and covered in monster dust. The receptionist barely looked up from her typing as she waved us in. Mrs. Nox had to forcibly drag me again, since I was too busy gaping at the receptionist's lack of surprise.

Mr. Mason sat behind his desk with large folders of paperwork on his desk. He looked up as we entered, looking somewhat dazedly at Mrs. Nox (I really, really meant it when I said she was gorgeous). Mrs. Nox waved her hand, which he took as a sign to sit. He didn't say anything, just stared at us and then I realized that he wasn't just stunned by her beauty. His eyes were unfocused, like the hypnotized people you see on the sci-fi channels. Before I could ask Mrs. Nox what she had done to him, she spoke.

"Thomas Mason, Selene Vu has passed the algebra test administered by Georgia Thompson. Georgia has asked me to hand in both Selene's test and her own letter of resignation."

She handed Mr. Mason two sheets of paper. (Where had those come from?) Mr. Mason took them and gave a slow nod. I had felt a sick knot of worry form when Mrs. Nox told him that load of dung, but he wasn't questioning it so I felt a small bubble of hope form in my chest; which made the next words out of Mrs. Nox's mouth that much worse.

"I am also here to inform you that Selene will also not be returning in the fall. We have found her another home near a special school equipped to help her. Thank you for your time."

And then without so much as a by-your-leave, we were gone.

* * *

><p>I struggled all the way out of the school into the parking lot, to Mrs. Nox's parked Mercedes. I had always wondered how a social worker was able to afford such a nice car. But I had more important things to sort out than her questionable wealth.<p>

"Why did you tell him I wasn't coming back? You said I passed, the deal was if I passed I could stay!"

I was struggling to hold in my tears. I had had just had the only hope for a family dashed against the rocks; and now after battling a demon math teacher, somehow escaping punishment, I was still being forced to leave.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciated Mrs. Nox covering the snake lady's annihilation, but why bother telling him I had passed if I couldn't stay in any case?

Mrs. Nox looked pained, as though my words were really breaking her heart. I might have let it go after seeing her expression, but I couldn't. As we entered the shade of the giant eucalyptus tree she had parked her car under I pulled myself free. I leveled the bronze sword at her, but my hand shook so bad I doubted it would intimidate anyone.

"You promised me answers."

Mrs. Nox regarded me sadly.

"I did. Once we are away from here I will tell you all I can, but your father has forbidden me from sharing the whole with you."

_My father._

"I don't have a father. Or if I do no one knows where he is."

She shook her head.

"I assure you, you do have a father. As to where he is, he will reveal himself to you in time. I can not say too much for fear of putting you in more danger, but everything will be made clear soon. We need to get you away from this school, you are in danger here. I promise you I will tell you all I can about everything that has happened here in the car."

I wasn't sure what to believe. All of my life I'd been told I was an orphan, that Mrs. Nox was my case worker. Right now, after I had been attacked by some sort of monster, she was telling me my father was alive and she was a goddess. Everything I had ever known had come crashing down around me in less than an hour. I was tired, scared, and a little angry. And as much as I hated it, Mrs. Nox had already taken the life with my foster family away from me, claiming I was in danger. I wanted to know why.

"Fine."

I lowered the sword and started walking to the car, hearing her follow behind me. I was going to go along with this for however long it took to answer my questions. But I wasn't sure I would be sticking around after.

* * *

><p>The interior of the Mercedes was just like I remembered; dark Leather interior, Dark tinted windows, and as cool as a summer night. As soon as Mrs. Nox pulled out of the school parking lot, she started talking.<p>

"As I told you, My name is Nyx, Goddess of Night. I have been watching over you since you were born, but I am limited in how much I can interfere. There are ancient laws that bind even the gods."

I was staring straight ahead, hopefully looking cool and collected, but inside I was a tumult of emotion.

"Why were you watching me? And what kind of laws apply to _gods_?"

I turned to see her face and gauge her reaction, only to start in shock. Nyx had taken her hands off the wheel and was now scanning through an expensive looking smart phone, typing occasionally, while the car took turns and stopped as if Nyx had a second pair of invisible arms guiding the car for her. Mouth gaping, I lost my train of thought, but Nyx didn't seem to notice.

"You are different than other children, not just because of your dyslexia and your ADHD. Those are results of your heritage. On this I can not say more, the more you are aware of your heritage the more the monsters, like Lamia, will sense and pursue you. Just understand your father is someone very dear to me, and I did not want him to suffer thinking you were uncared for. The ancient laws that apply to gods were agreed upon by the Olympians when the age of Olympians began."

Nyx was still typing away, and while I was curious who she was talking to (who would be in a goddess's phonebook?), Nyx's speech had created a jumble of questions that had outnumbered the ones she answered.

"You keep talking about my father and I don't have one. If he knows who I am and cared so much, why didn't he claim me and take care of me instead of leaving me in foster care?"

I was regretting my decision to hear Nyx's explanation. The more I heard, the angrier I was getting. I grew up without a family, and knowing I could have had at least _one_ parent was like salt in a wound.

Nyx took a glance at me, and then hit a button on the side panel of the driver's seat. I heard a click to my left, as my unlocked door clicked shut. I looked to the door, and right before my eyes the lock and door handle melted away, so unless I kicked the window out, I was trapped.

"Your father was not allowed to interfere with your path. I will not say anymore about this."

Door locked and fixed with a glare (coming from a goddess, mind), I decided not to push it. I decided to ask the second most pressing question.

"My math teacher-"

"Her name is Lamia, a demon who devours children. When I brought you to live with Mrs. Treble I had hoped that the mortals would cover your scent and mislead the monsters."

"_My scent_?" Alright now I was offended. I may not reek of designer perfume, or use the Victoria's Secret lotions that pollute the girls' locker room, but I showered regularly, shampooed, and deodorized. No one could accuse me of having a bad odor.

"I put you in foster care since you would constantly be on the move, less likelihood of monsters scenting you and trying to attack you. The mortals in this valley smell so obnoxiously human I thought they would mask you. You've been able to stay here longest because the mortals here embody the worst of humanity. Greedy. Selfish. Vain. Cowardly. Where better to hide someone as extraordinary as you than in a neighborhood that celebrates normalcy?"

There was a strain of pride in her voice, as though she was pleased with her thinking. I would have been flattered if I could figure out exactly _what _was so great about me.

She seemed to pick up on my confusion.

"Selene, if I could I would tell you everything here and now, but the more you know about why the monsters want to attack you the stronger your smell will become to them, and they will seek you out to challenge you. Devour you like Lamia wanted. Until you make your journey from here to the camp I can not tell you more, only that all of your questions will be answered by your thirteenth birthday. Just be patient."

_Great. Tell the ADHD kid to be patient. I can totally do that._ I mentally scoffed.

"So there are more of these monsters?"

Outside the car we were passing other cars, making it look like they were driving in reverse. Surprisingly, no one was honking at us and no cops had pulled us over. Nyx rounded off her last message, and laid it flat on her palm. Immediately it glowed and expanded, to a smooth screened tablet the size of a book.

"Much better, I can barely see the charts when its phone size. Yes, there are many more monsters are out there. Most people , yourself included, will not notice them. The Mist distorts them, makes them seem something that will fit in to their narrow view of the world."

That would explain why I didn't realize my math teacher was a snake lady who wanted to eat me. Ok, an explanation that finally answers more questions than it creates.

"So what happens now? You take me to this special camp?"

Here Nyx looked uncomfortable.

"Unfortunately I can not take you, as it is I have interfered too much already. You must find your own way."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. I tried to keep my voice calm.

"Let me get this straight. Not only did you just tell me a bunch of monsters want to eat me, because of who my dad is who, by the way, _I don't even know,_ that I can't go back home, and that I need to get to this special camp to be safe, _but you're not taking me there?"_

I had always tried to look on the bright side of things. For the most part I had grown up with a roof over my head and food on the table, with a couple month's gaps here and there. Foster care wasn't what most people considered a great place to grow up, but I hadn't suffered nearly as much as other kids in the system had. I counted my blessings, realizing that I had been born out of luck. But now I was mad. Pissed off at the father who had abandoned me and never bothered to write, call, or get in touch with me in any way; and now my life was apparently in danger just because I happened to be related to him. I had to leave the only family I had ever known and cared about, and I had to go at it alone.

Nyx shrunk the phone and put it in a designer purse.

"Selene, look around you. Do you not realize where we are?"

I hadn't bothered to really look at the landscape. I had kinda been preoccupied with the whole monsters-want-to-use-me-as-sandwich-meat. When I did though my jaw dropped.

To my left, looming in the distance, was Los Angeles.

***anxiouslybitesnails* How'd I do guys? ** please review it!  
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